Tire.



No. 665,822. Patented Jan. 8, 190i.

W. A. BARROWS.

' TIRE.

(Application filed Oct. 11, 1900.)

(No Model.)

Il /ll m: NORRIS PETERS co. PHOYD-LITHO. WASHINGYON. u. a

an STATES WALTER A. BARROWS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

'TIRE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 665,822, dated January8, 1901. Application filed October 11, 1900. Serial No. 32,713. (Nomodel.)

T0 00% whom it mag concern..-

Be it known that I, WALTER A. BAnnows, a resident of Chicago, in thecounty of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new anduseful Improvements in Tires, of which the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to mechanical means for attaching and detaching apneumatic tire to its rim; and its object is to provide simple,efficient, andreliable means for this purpose.

My invention is applicable to those tires having a wire in one or bothof its edges, and my device is used for the purpose of connecting andtightening the free ends of the wire. In general terms my device is aWire tightener or connector comprising a plate to which one end of thewire is secured, adj ustably or otherwise, and on which is mounted awalking-lever, to which the other end of the wire is connected. I havealso devised what I will term a bail, to be used in connection with saidconnector or other form of connectors.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional plan of a portion of apneumatic tire and rim, showing my device; Fig. 2, a side elevationthereof, showing the outer casing and the bail thrown back; Fig. 3, asectional plan of my connector; Fig. 4:, a section on line A B of Fig.1; Fig. 5, a section on line C D of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6, a plan of a portion of the connector,

showing the use of corrugations instead of holes to engage the teeth ofthe lever; Fig. 7, a plan of a portion of the connector, showing amodified form of adjustment of the wire; Fig. 8, a detail view of thebail; Fig. 9, a section on line E F of Fig. 1, and Fig. 10 a section ofa tire with one wire.

As shown, the tire comprises an inner tube 1 and an outer casing 2. Inthe preferred arrangement herein illustrated double wires are used, awire being sewed or otherwise secured in the edges of the canvas, whichis usually cemented to the inner face or surface of the casing. While asingle wire may be sufficient and also two connectors may be employed,the arrangement shown is preferred, in which two wires are used, onlyone of which has a connector.

Thetwo ends 3 and 4 of one of the wires may be joined together by thenipple or nut 5, provided with right and left hand threads engagingcorresponding screw-threads on the ends of the wire. This not has aseries of holes 6, by which it may be rotated to tighten up the wire.The wire may be suitably arranged in the edge of the usual canvas 7as,for instance, the edge of such canvas may be turned over upon the wireand stitched, after which the usual rubber casing may be ccmented uponthe canvas. When the nut 5 is rotated, the wire is tightened, and thisparticular edge of the outer casing is held practically permanently tothe rim, it being intended that access to the inner tube be had underthe other edge of the casing, which is consequently provided with thewire tightener or connector about to be described. In the other edge ofthe canvas 7 is arranged in a similar manner the second wire, whose twoends 8 and 9 are to be connected by the connector.

The connector comprises a plate 10, having ,a side flange 11 and two endflanges 12 and 13. The wire 8, which passes through the flange12, is adjustably fastened to the plate by inserting its end into the proper oneof a series of longitudinally-arranged holes 14:. This adjustment mayalso be secured, as shown in Fig. 7, by providing one end of the wirewith screw-threads 15, engaged by a nut 16, bearing against the innerface of flange 12.

The side flange 11 has a series of holes 17 (or corrugations 18, asshown in Fig. 6) to receive the teeth 19 of a walking-lever 20. Thislever has a flat-sided projection or large tooth 21, adapted to fit acorrespondinglysized opening 22 in the flange 11 for a purposehereinafter mentioned.

The extreme end of wire 9 is bent at right angles and is pivotallyconnected to the lever 20, the wire passing through the lever andentering a longitudinal slot 23 in the plate. This pivot is shiftable ormovable in such slot, so that the wire is tightened or loosened,accordinglyas the lever walks in the one direction or the other.

As shown in Fig. 9, the lever is provided with a downward projection orpin 24, which is adapted to snap into a small hole or'recess 25 on theplate and be engaged thereby, but not against positive force.

The bail consists of a strip or wire 26, having its ends 27 bent atright angles and adapted to loosely engage the wires 8 and 9 justoutside the end flanges 12 and 13 of the plate.

As shown in Fig. 2, the edge of the casing is cut away to admit theconnector proper, and the wire 26 of the bail is arranged in the edge 28along such cut-away portion, so that the edge of the casing alongpractically its entire length is properly supported or carried. The bailbeing pivoted on the wires is adapted to be turned back, together withthe casing, so as to readily expose the connector. Normally, however,this bail lies flat in the same plane as plate 10, with the wire 26along the outer edge of the plate.

To protect the inner tube from contact with the connector or withtheheads of the spokes, I prefer to use a strip 29 of canvas or othersuitable material.

The operation is as follows: The casing, with its inner tube, is placedin the rim 30, and one edge of the casing tightened onto the rim bydrawing together the ends 3 and 4 of the wire by turning the nut 5. Whenthe casing was applied to the rim, the lever 20 was thrown as far to theleft as possible, so that the wires 8 and 9 were loose. By turning thelever its teeth will engage the holes 17 in the plate and the lever willwalk or move longitudinally, carrying the end 9 of the wire, whoseextreme end will slide in slot 23. The wire will now be tightened,because its ends 8 and 9 are drawn together. The ends of the wire are inline and the pull is therefore straight. When the lever is in place uponthe plate, its projecting pin 24 will engage in the small hole or recess25 in the plate itself and be held against accidental dislodgment.

'- When the leveris in normal position,as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thelarge tooth 21 will be received by the hole 22. This tooth has a twofoldfunction in that it not only bears the longitudinal pull or strain, butprevents the lever from springing up on account of the pull, and thusbecome unloosened. The proper tension is obtained byinserting the end 8of the wire in the proper hole, or in the case of the other construction(shown in Fig. 7) by screwing up on the nut 16. Afterthe connector ismanipulated as above described the bail, with the casing theretoattached, is drawn down in place at one side of the connector, whichlies fiat on the crescent-shaped rim 30, with the strip 29 protectingthe inner or inflatable tube from the connector and also from the usualspoke-heads. In opening the casing for obtaining access to the innertube after being deflated, the bail, together with the casing, is turnedback, thereby exposing the connector and rendering it extremely easy andconvenient of manipulation. This bail thus not only forms a means forproperly handling the easing so as to expose the connector, but alsocarries the edge of the casing when it has been cut away to accom modatethe connector. This bail is shown as pivoted on the wires 8 and 9,although any manner of pivoting might be adopted and the same functionssubserved.

Tires equipped with my connector are readily attachable and detachableand the use of cements for attachment to the rim is entirely avoided.Moreover, my connector is simple in construction, but reliable andpositive in operation.

It is obvious that the bail maybe used with other forms of connectorsthan my connector herein shown and described.

In Fig. 10 isillustrated a modification wherein asingle wire 31 is used,which is arrangedin one edge 32 of the casing 33. The other edge of suchcasing has a bead 34, behind which the edge 32, withits wi re, engages.It is understood that the wire 31 has a connector, such as shown in Fig.3. The manipulation of this form of tire is obvious and the same as thatof the other form except that the two edges of the casing overlap andlock.

Although I have described more or less precise forms and details ofconstruction, I do not intend to be understood as limiting myselfthereto, asI contemplate changes in form, the proportion of parts, andthe substitution of equivalents as circumstances may suggest or renderexpedient, and without departing from the spirit of my invention.

I claim- 1. In a tire, the combination with the casing having a wire inone of its edges, means for tightening and loosening the wire, the edgeof the casing cut away adjacent to said means to accommodate the sameand a bail arranged in the edge of such cut-away portion.

2. In combination with a tire affixed to the rim by a wire which istightened and loosened by a connector, a pivoted bail carrying an edgeof the tire adjacent to the connector.

3. In combination with the casing having a wire in one of its edges, aconnector for tightening and loosening the two ends of the wire and abail pivoted on said wire on either side of the connector and arrangedin the edge of the casing adjacent to the connector.

4:- In combination with the casing having a wire in one of its edges, aconnector for tightening and loosening the two ends of the wire and abail comprising a wire arranged in the edge of the casing adjacent tothe connector and having angled ends pivotally mounted on said wire.

5. In combination with a tire-casing having a wire in one of its edges,of a connector or tightener for such wire comprising a plate to whichone end of the wire is secured and provided with a flange having a hole,and a lever mounted on such plate and engaging the other wire, suchlever having intermediate of its length a projection or tooth receivedby said hole.

6. In combination with a tire-casing having a wire in one of its edges,of a connector or tightener for such'wire comprising a slotted suchlever having intermediate of its length a tooth received by said hole.

7. The combination of a tire-casing having a wire in one of its edges, aconnector for such wire comprising a plate having a longitudinal slotand a side flange and end flange, a lever engaging the side flange so asto walk longitudinally when turned, one end of the wire being connectedto the plate and the other end to the lever and received by such slot,and a bail arranged in the edge of the casing adjacent to the connectorand having rightangled ends pivotally mounted on the wire outside orbeyond said end flanges.

8. The combination of a tire-casing having a wire in oneof its edges, aconnector for such wire comprising a plate, means on the plate fortightening or loosening the wire, the casing adjacent to the connectorbeing cut away and a bail arranged in the edge of such cutaway portionof the casing and having angled ends pivoted onto the ends of the wire,such bail with its edge of the casing normally lying along-the outer'edge of the plate.

9. A tightener for the wire of a mechanically detachable tire comprisinga plate to which one end of the wire is secured, and a lever to whichthe other end of the wire is connected and mounted on the plate, thelever having a downwardly-extending pin or projection and a hole orrecess on the plate into which such pin snaps when the lever is shiftedto lie substantially longitudinally with such plate.

WALTER A. BARROWS.

Witnesses:

LOUISE E. SERAGE, HATTIE '0. HALVORSON.

